ReviewIt is possible to have a good heart but be arrogant. It is possible to be ill with regret and longing. It is possible to hide oneself away from others, to take refuge in the past. It is possible to view oneself as heroically self-sacrificing but be seen as selfish. It is possible to keep cherished secrets that fester into wounds. A Canadian literature professor named David learns all these things—second-hand—as well as a good deal more about his own identity, when he accompanies his mother, a recently retired opera diva, back to southern Italy for a family reunion in Genni Gunn's novel Solitaria.... Gunn's depiction of David as the bewildered confidante and reluctant siphon for his aunt's tale of woe is perfectly drawn. He doubles as a cultural translator for the novel itself, unexpectedly immersed in passionate Italian intrigues as a polite, trustworthy, respectful and somewhat aloof Canadian. Gunn succeeds in making us curious; and she succeeds in making us care about the characters. Solitaria is a deeply moving, intellectually stimulating, complex and fully realized novel. Possibly Shakespeare got it wrong. For some, it is better to have never loved at all. Product DescriptionWhen Vito Santoro’s body is inadvertently unearthed by a demolition crew in Fregene, Italy, his siblings are thrown into turmoil, having been told by their sister Piera that Vito had fled to Argentina fifty years earlier after abandoning his wife and son. Piera, the self-proclaimed matriarch, locks herself in her room, refusing to speak to anyone but her Canadian nephew, David. Now scattered over three continents, the family members regroup in Italy to try to discover the truth. They all arrive rife with their own resentments and conflicting desires: Aldo, the successful barrister everyone leans on; Teresa, the angry, abandoned wife; Renato, who lost Teresa to his brother Vito; Mimi, the bitter, ironic baby of the family; Clarissa, the famous opera diva whose peripatetic life had her frequently leaving her son David in the care of Piera; and David who reluctantly accompanies his mother to Italy to bury his long-lost uncle. Set against the countryside of Italy’s Adriatic coast, Solitaria is a tale of longing and family honour, told from two points of view: Piera’s and David’s. With the unravelling of their stories, we glimpse a woman’s growing awareness of her own capacity for self-delusion, and of the consequences of her actions on others, and a young man’s awakening to the depth of his roots. Views: 31
In Adrienne Kisner's Dear Rachel Maddow, a high school girl deals with school politics and life after her brother's death by drafting emails to MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in this funny and heartfelt YA debut. Views: 31
SUMMARY: Single mom Karina Barrett is thrilled to treat her kids to a fairytale Christmas vacation... but will a sexy innkeeper make her own holiday dreams come true? For Karina, it's the chance of a lifetime: a free cocoa and gingerbread-filled holiday at a quaint Michigan B&B called The Christmas House. In return, Karina will play spy and report back to the company hoping to buy out the popular hotel. It's all too good to be true. . .especially when Karina meets innkeeper Reid Sullivan. The man is a walking talking Christmas miracle--and she's hoping to meet him under the mistletoe. . . Single dad turned globe-trotting adventurer, Reid isn't quite sure how he and his daughters got roped into helping out this year at his family's B&B. But once he arrives, it doesn't take long for a certain guest to catch his eye. Fun-loving California girl Karina is hard to miss, and Reid senses the attraction is mutual. As Christmas approaches and the weather grows colder, things between Reid and Karina heat up. But when the true reason behind Karina's visit is revealed, will the holiday magic disappear before the ball drops on New Year's Eve?... Views: 31
A beautiful ghost appears to a troubled teen and shows her the heartbreaking secrets of her family's past Fifteen-year-old Teresa has fallen in love—with a ghost. The handsome man that she's passed on the street a few times captures her attention, and she thinks he notices her too. But when the man suddenly appears inside her home, hovering in the air and passing through solid furniture, Teresa realizes this isn't going to be a typical crush. The ghost is Brother Rush, a man tied to Teresa's past, who has come to show her the ways her life has special meaning, and that her problems at school and at home are not what they seem. Views: 31
Beth thinks a casual encounter with a stranger at a college party is a one-time thing, but he seems to have other plans. He turns out to be one of her students, but she wants him anyway, attracted enough to him she doesn’t care. Unfortunately, Beth is also in a long-term, long-distance, very off and on relationship that suddenly turns on again, and now she has to chose between two men. Views: 31
In the thrilling sequel to Synarchy Book 1: The Awakening, the end is only the beginning. Secrets emerge that will challenge the core of everything you think you believe, a team of scientists must make sense out of the fantastical, and the tenuous link holding together the one family that can save humankind, shatters. Book 2 can be read as a stand alone & will keep you guessing until the very end Views: 31
The first hardcover in the series-now in paperback. The novel that brings it all together... Views: 31
This irreverent, tragicomic, politically incorrect, astoundingly articulate memoir about going blind–and growing up—illuminates not just the author's reality, but the reader's. Views: 31
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DAVID BRADSHAWAnthony Beavis is a man inclined to recoil from life. His past is haunted by the death of his best friend Brian and by his entanglement with the cynical and manipulative Mary Amberley. Realising that his determined detachment from the world has been motivated not by intellectual honesty but by moral cowardice, Anthony attempts to find a new way to live. Eyeless in Gaza is considered by many to be Huxley's definitive work of fiction. Views: 31
